Editing Combustor (section)

==Scramjets==
[[File:ScramjetDiagram.gif|thumb|right|upright=2.0|Diagram illustrating a scramjet engine. Notice the isolator section between the compression inlet and combustion chamber. (Illustration from [[The Hy-V Scramjet Flight Experiment]].)]]
{{Main|Scramjet}}

[[Scramjet]] (''[[supersonic]] [[combustion]] [[ramjet]]'') engines present a much different situation for the combustor than conventional gas turbine engines (scramjets are not gas turbines, as they generally have few or no moving parts). While scramjet combustors may be physically quite different from conventional combustors, they face many of the same design challenges, like fuel mixing and flame holding. However, as its name implies, a scramjet combustor must address these challenges in a [[supersonic]] flow environment. For example, for a scramjet flying at [[Mach number|Mach]] 5, the air flow entering the combustor would nominally be Mach 2. One of the major challenges in a scramjet engine is preventing [[shock wave]]s generated by combustor from traveling upstream into the inlet. If that were to happen, the engine may [[unstart]], resulting in loss of thrust, among other problems. To prevent this, scramjet engines tend to have an isolator section (see image) immediately ahead of the combustion zone.<ref name="hyv">{{cite conference |author1=Goyne, C. P |author2=Hall, C. D. |author3=O'Brian, W. F. |author4=Schetz, J. A |title=The Hy-V Scramjet Flight Experiment (AIAA 2006-7901) |doi=10.2514/6.2006-7901 |url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2006-7901 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183608/http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMHYP06_1276/PV2006_7901.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-30 |conference=14th AIAA/AHI Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference |date=November 2006|url-access=subscription }}</ref>